Bonner already looking ahead to National League opener against Mayo

Donegal will not lack for motivation when they meet Mayo in the first round of the NFL in Ballybofey at the end of January.

That’s the firm verdict of Donegal boss Declan Bonner as he looks forward to starting next season in Division One.

He also revealed that he has spoken to Odhran MacNiallais and is very hopeful that veterans Neil McGee and Frank McGlynn will give it another go.

The 54-year-old Tir Conaill manager said he was looking forward to operating at a higher level this season and first up is Mayo in Ballybofey at the end of January.

“We have four home games and it is not just a case of saying we need to win all our home games, as we will be taking every game as it comes on its own merits.

“And we certainly have a good opener with Mayo coming to Ballybofey.

“That is one match we certainly won’t need any motivation for. There is hurt from our last game in the Super 8’s and the way our season ended on a most disappointing note.

“So in a way you could not ask for a better start to the season. Mayo are still a formidable force and we will need to be on our game to win, but Division One is always where you want to be," he said.

But Donegal then have Meath (away), Galway (home), Dublin (away), Monaghan (home), Tyrone (home) and Kerry (away) as they make the big step up.

“There will be no easy games in this Division, but it is a great learning curve for our younger players as we head into a new season after winning back to back Ulster titles and promotion back to the top flight which we targeted.

“It is important to get off to a good start and players are already in the gym and we will be getting back together as a group when the club championships are over. 2019 has flown and we have some big games and we have Dublin and Kerry away.

“There has been a lot of changes in other counties and we have built over the past few years. We are looking to blood new players and our first target is to get the two points against Mayo and we will take it from there," he said.

Bonner confirmed that he has already spoken to Odhran MacNiallais ahead of this year’s campaign.

And he said he was “very hopeful” that veterans Neil McGee and Frank McGlynn will soldier on for another year at least.

“Yes they are great servants of the county and I would hope they will be back for 2020," he added.